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Editorial: Delay transition away from GMO crops

Posted:
08/11/2018 05:09:18 PM MDT

Farmer supporters listen during a 2016 public hearing on the use of GMO crops on Boulder County-owned land. (Kira Horvath / Staff Photographer)

When the Boulder County commissioners in 2016 voted to phase out genetically-engineered crops — GMOs — on county-owned farmland, the plan included measures that were intended to smooth the transition for tenant farmers and ensure good stewardship of the land.

There was a proposed research initiative.

There was a commitment to help affected farmers avoid financial hardships.

There was the promise of annual reports and public hearings on transition progress.

There was the phase-out itself.

None of these measures has proceeded the way officials said they would — except for one: the phase-out. The county is moving forward without completing the work necessary for the GMO ban to materialize as fair and sound policy. That's a mistake.

When the commissioners, with a dissenting vote from Cindy Domenico, adopted the new cropland policy in November of that year, the terms called for farmers, who schedule plantings years in advance, to phase out GMO corn by the end of 2019 and GMO sugar beets by the end of 2021.

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Putting aside the folly of the phase-out, we'll credit county officials for acknowledging that the policy had great potential to adversely affect tenant farmers, and the officials established measures meant to shield farmers from undue pain. Primary among these was the proposed Sustainable Agriculture Research and Innovation Initiative, or SARII, an ambitious project that would have involved partner agencies investigating environmentally-friendly and economically-viable farming practices on demonstration plots. County officials said they would assist farmers financially. "Staff will work with each tenant to determine the financial implications of this transition ... and identify a variety of tools and incentives to help minimize the potential economic impact and make tenants whole," a county document said. Officials also pledged to produce an annual report of transition progress, complete with a public hearing.

One after another, these measures fell flat.

The county's attempt to solicit third-party proposals for the SARII, bedeviled by ethical irregularities and recriminations between the county and farmers, was eventually abandoned. County staff members say they've worked to some degree with farmers on the question of financial support, but the effort to "make tenants whole" is far from complete. The first transition report was due in January, but, though county staff say a final draft is nearing completion, it's late.

Imagine if none of these measures were put forward as part of the GMO phase-out when it was originally adopted. The plan would have been roundly rejected by all involved as unfair and irresponsible. So how can officials, given that the transition measures have amounted to so little, barrel ahead with the original phase-out schedule?

This is about more than fair treatment of the roughly 10 tenant farmers who currently plant GMO crops on county land. It is also about good land management. Farmers plant GMO crops not only because they believe they're safe for the environment and human health but also as a function of economic realities. If anti-GMO policy forces them out of business, the line of farmers waiting to take their place is very short, they say. The county will be in no better position if it finds itself presiding over a portfolio of failed farms.

This page voiced opposition to the GMO phase-out when it was adopted. Our position then, as it remains, is that the policy was based not so much on science as on a politically popular plank. Now that the transition has fallen so short of initial aspirations, it's an opportune moment for the commissioners to consider an outright reversal of the GMO phase-out. At the very least, they should delay the phase-out until they can implement it with prudence and fairness.

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